Land reform and expropriation fears are largely unjustified
The heated debate about the proposed amendment of the South African constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation has dented the buoyant confidence that many South African middle class property owners have felt about their property investments. However, much of the insecurity and fear are based on misinterpretation and a serious lack of reliable data, says Rowan Alexander, Director of Alexander Swart Property.
“One week we have AgriSA claiming that already nearly 30% of agricultural land is already black owned and the next week others are saying that these policies, if adopted, will destroy the free market economy and local and overseas business confidence in SA.”
This was said recently by Alexander. He referred to an article in the Mail and Guardian by Ben Cousins, Professor of the University of the Western Cape’s Property Land Reform and Agrarian Studies Department, and to a talk given to Durbanville businessmen by Professor Nick Vink of the University of Stellenbosch’s Agricultural Land Economics Department and a member of the South African Reserve Bank’s Advisory Panel.
“Professor Cousins in his article made it clear that there is virtually no data on the subject of land ownership in South Africa which can be regarded as authentic and can be used in this argument, while Professor Vink emphasised that land reform is not necessarily unconstitutional. South Africa’s constitution, in fact, makes provision for the expropriation of land and places an obligation on whatever government is in power to pursue land reform. Ways of doing this are by restitution, redistribution and tenure reform.
In Professor Vink’s view,redistribution and tenure reform have so far proved ineffective. The emphasis, therefore, will be on restitution, i.e. the handing back or paying of compensation to disadvantaged people for land on which they formerly lived or worked. But the focus will be on such land which is closest to the main work nodes and industrial precincts, the aim here being, among other things, to reduce the excessive time and money spent on commuting by the workforce.
23 Jul 2018
Author Independent Author